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SIMDAY     SO  iOlHM 


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FROM   THE  LIBRARY  OF 
REV.   LOUIS    FITZGERALD    BENSON,  D.  D. 

BEQUEATHED   BY   HIM   TO 

THE   LIBRARY  OF 

PRINCETON  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 


xr'^Zi.vw     "'A^^-*^ 


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^R^  OF  P3;,Vff^^. 
JAN  20  1932  '■^' 


H I S T O R  Yx^g;wl 8e^^\:^ 


OF   THE 


IHDEPEHDEHT 


PRESBTTERIAN  CHORCH 


SUNDAY  SCHOOU 

SAVANNAH.  GA, 


SAVANNAH : 

GEO.    N.    NICHOLS,    PRINTER   AND    BINDER. 
1882. 


GRANT  OF  LAND  FROM  KING  GEORGE  11. 


George  the  Second,  by  the  Grace  of  God.  of  Great  Britain, 
France  and  Ireland,  King,  Defender  of  the  Faith  and  so  forth. 
To  all  to  whom  these  Presents  shall  come,  Greeting.  Know  ye 
that  we  of  our  special  Grace,  certain  knowledge  and  meer  motion, 
Have  given  and  granted,  and  by  these  presents  for  us,  our  heirs 
and  successors.  Do  give  and  grant  unto  Jonathan  Bryan  and 
James  Edward  Powell,  Esqrs.,  Robert  Bolton,  James  Miller,  Jo- 
seph Gibbons,  William  Gibbons,  Benjamin  Farley,  William 
Wright,  David  Fox  the  younger,  and  John  Fox,  All  that  public 
Lot  in  the  town  of  Savannah,  in  our  Province  of  Georgia,  known 
by  the  Letter  K,  and  situate  in  Decker  Ward,  containing  Sixty 
feet  in  front,  and  one  hundred  and  eighty  feet  in  depth,  which  lot 
is  bounded,  as  in  and  by  the  certificate  hereunto  annexed  may 
more  fully  appear.  To  have  and  to  hold,  the  said  Public  Lot 
hereby  granted,  together  with  all  ways,  water  paths,  passages, 
privileges  and  appurtenances  whatsoever,  to  the  same  belonging, 
or  in  any  wise  appertaining,  unto  the  said  Jonathan  Bryan,  James 
Edward  Powell,  Robert  Bolton,  James  Miller,  Joseph  Gibbons, 
William  Gibbons,  Benjamin  Farley,  William  Wright,  David  Fox, 
and  John  Fox,  their  heirs  and  assigns  forever,  in  free  and  common 
soccage  yielding  and  paying  therefor,  unto  us,  our  heirs  and  suc- 
cessors, yearly  and  every  year,  one  pepper  corn  if  demanded.  In 
trust  nevertheless,  and  to  the  intent  and  purpose  that  a  Meeting 
House  or  place  of  public  worship  for  the  service  of  Almighty  God, 
be  thereupon  erected  and  built,  for  the  use  and  benefit  of  such  of 
our  loving  subjects  now  residing,  or  that  may  at  any  time  hereafter 
reside  within  the  District  of  Savannah,  in  our  said  Province  of 
Georgia,  as  are  or  shall  be  professors  of  the  Doctrines  of  the 
Church  of  Scotland,  agreeable  to  the  Westminster  Confession  of 
Faith.  Provided  always,  and  this  present  Grant  is  upon  condition 
nevertheless  that  in  case  such  Meeting  House  shall  not  be  erected 
and  built  within  three  years  from  the  date  of  these  Presents,  that 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


then  the  said  lot  hereby  granted  shall  revert  to  us,  our  Heirs  and 
successors,  as  fully  and  absolutely  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  as 
if  the  same  had  never  been  granted. 

Given  under  the  Broad  Seal  of  our  Province  of  Georgia.  Wit- 
ness his  Excellency  John  Reynolds,  Esquire,  our  Captain  General 
and  Governor  in  Chief  in  and  over  our  said  Province,  the  six- 
teenth day  of  January  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  1756  and  in  the 
twenty-ninth  year  of  our  reign. 

J.   REYNOLDS. 

Signed  b)^  His  Excellency  the  Governor  in  Council. 

THOS.  VINCENT,   D.  C.  C. 


Office  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  ) 
Atlanta,  Ga.,  March  3,  1882.      \ 

I  hereby  certify  that  the  above  and  foregoing  one  page  contains 
a  correct  copy  from  Book  A,  Register  of  Grants,  in  this  office, 
page  97. 

Given  under  my  hand  and  official  seal. 

N.   C.   BARNETT, 

Secretary  0/  State. 
Registered  May  17th,  1756. 


INDEPENDENT  PRESS  YTERIAN  CHURCH.         5 


EXTRACT. 


"At  a  Council  held  in  the  Council  Chamber  at  Savannah  on 
Fryday,  i6th  Jan.,  1756.     Present, 

His  Excellency  John  Reynolds,  Esq. 

f  John   Habersham, 
I    Alex.   Kellet, 
The  Hon'ble-{    Francis  Harris,       J^  Esqrs. 
I   Jonathan  Bryan,     | 
[  James  Mackay,        j 
******** 
His   Excellency  the   Governor  signed   the  following  grants  for 
lands  laid  out  by  the  late  Trustees  and  the  late  President  and  As- 
sistants. 

******** 

The  following  were  lands  laid  out  by  warrant  from  his  Excel- 
lency. 

******** 

To  Jonathan  Bryan  and  James  Edward  Powell,  Esqrs.,  Robert 
Bolton,  James  Miller,  Joseph  Gibbons,  William  Gibbons,  Ben- 
jamin Farley,  William  Wright,  David  Fox  the  younger,  and  John 
Fox,  in  Trust,  a  lot  in  Savannah  for  a  Presbyterian  Meeting 
House,  known  by  Letter  K  in  Decker  Ward." 


Executive  Department,      ] 
Atlanta,  Ga.,  March  14,  1882.  \ 

I,  J.  W.  Warren,  Secretary  of  the  Executive  Department,  afore- 
said State,  hereby  certify,  that  the  preceding  and  opposite  page 
contains  a  true  extract  from  a  book  of  records  purporting  to  be  a 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


"Journal  of  the  proceedings  and  minutes  of  His  Majesty's  Prov- 
ince of  Georgia,  commencing  the  30th  day  of  October,  1754,  and 
ending  the  6th  day  of  March,  1759  inclusive,"  on  file  in  the  office 
of  the  aforesaid  Department. 

Witness  my  hand  and  the  seal   of  the  Executive  Department, 
this  March  14,  A.  D.  1882. 

J.  W.  WARREN, 
Secretary  Executive  Department. 


INDEPENDENT  PRESB  YTERIAN  CHURCH. 


No.  184. 

AN  ACT 

To  increase  the  funds  of  the  Independent  Presbyterian  Church,  in 
the  City  of  Savannah.  \^See  Laws  of  Georgia,  1801  to  1810,  Clay- 
tons Compilation,  page  248.  See  Act  of  1806,  N'o.  249,  Sec.  6, 
repealing  this  Act.] 

Whereas,  the  Independent  Presbyterian  Congregation  of 
the  City  of  Savannah  did,  under  the  provincial  government,  obtain 
in  the  said  cit}-  a  lot.  known  in  the  plan  of  said  city  by  letter  K, 
to  build  thereon  a  church  to  be  denominated  the  Independent 
Presbyterian  Church,  which  was  accordingly  built  and  remained 
dedicated  to  the  service  of  the  Almighty  God,  until  the  same  was 
destroyed  by  fire. 

And  whereas,  there  is  not  at  present  any  successors  of  the  orig- 
inal Trustees  of  said  congregation  alive,  authorized  to  take  upon 
themselves  the  charge  and  care  of  said  church  lot,  and  execute  re- 
ligious objects  and  desires  of  said  congregation,  excepting  Barrach 
Gibbons,  Esq.,  who  has  the  uncontrolled  government,  manage- 
ment and  disposition  thereof. 

Be  it  therefore  enacted,  That  Joseph  Bryan  and  Josiah  Gibbons 
Telfair,  be,  and  they  are  hereby  appointed  as  Trustees  in  aid  and 
addition  to  the  said  Barrach  Gibbons  to  continue  in  office,  to  in- 
crease the  funds,  and  to  rebuild  the  Church  on  lot  K,  to  be  de- 
nominated and  known  by  "the  Independent  Presbyterian  Church, 
in  the  City  of  Savannah." 

ABRAHAM  JACKSON, 
Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 
JARED  IRWIN, 

President  of  the  Senate. 
Assented  to  December  3,  1805. 

JOHN   MILLEDGE,   Go^'crnor, 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


CHARTER, 


No.  249. 

AN  ACT 

To  incorporate  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  the  City  of  Savannah. 

\_See  Laws  of  Georgia,  i8oi  to  i8io,  Clayton  s  Compilation,  pages 

325,  327.] 

Whereas,  a  number  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  City  of  Savannah 
and  County  of  Chatham  have,  by  their  memorial,  represented  to 
the  Legislature,  that  on  the  i6th  day  of  January,  1756,  a  certain 
lot  of  land,  situate  and  being  in  the  City  of  Savannah,  and  known 
by  the  letter  K,  was  granted  to  James  Powell,  Robert  Bolton, 
James  Miller,  Joseph  Gibbons,  William  Gibbons,  Benjamin  Far- 
ley, William  Wright,  David  Fox  and  John  Fox,  their  heirs  and 
assigns  forever  in  trust  nevertheless,  and  to  the  intent  and  pur- 
pose that  a  meeting-house  or  place  of  public  worship  for  the  ser- 
vice of  Almighty  God  should  be  erected  thereon,  for  the  use  of 
such  persons  as  were  then  residing,  or  might  thereafter  reside,  in 
the  district  of  Savannah,  as  were  professors  of  the  doctrines  of  the 
Church  of  Scotland,  agreeable  to  the  Westminster  Confession  of 
Faith,  with  a  proviso  in  the  said  grant  contained,  that  should  such 
meeting-house  or  place  of  worship  not  be  erected  on  the  said  lot 
within  the  time  therein  limited,  then  the  said  lot  should  revert  to 
the  grantors;  that  a  meeting-house  was  built  within  the  time  lim- 
ited, and  the  professors  of  the  Presbyterian  religion  held,  occupied 
and  used  the  same  as  their  place  of  public  worship  until  the  said 
meeting-house  was  destroyed  by  fire,  in  the  month  of  November, 
1796,  and  the  said  lot  was  afterwards  disposed  of  by  the  then  Trus- 
tees, on  building  leases,  and  hath  ever  since  been  held  by  the  les- 
sees; that  in  the  year  1800  the  professors  of  the  said  Presbyterian 
religion,  were  enabled  by  subscription  to  build  a  church  on  their 
other  lot  in  the  said  City  of  Savannah,  known  by  the  letter  O, 
which  is  their  present  place  of  worship,  and  have  prayed  that  a  cer- 


INDEPENDENT  PRESB  YTEKIAN  CHURCH. 


tain  act  of  the  Legislature  relative  to  the  said  Church  be  repealed, 
and  that  they,  the  said  memorialists,  may  be  made  a  body  corpor- 
ate, and  Trustees  appointed  for  the  said  Presbyterian  Church  or 
congregation. 

Section  i.  Be  it  therefore  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of 
Representatives,  of  the  State  of  Georgia,  in  General  Assembly 
met,  and  it  is  enacted  by  the  authority  of  the  same,  That  Thomas 
Newell,  Charles  Harris,  Francis  Courvoisie,  John  G.  Williamson, 
John  Scriven,  Barrach  Gibbons,  Thomas  F.  Williams,  Fingal  F. 
Flyming  and  Benjamin  Maurice,  and  their  successors  in  office,  be, 
and  they  are  hereby  declared  to  be  a  body  corporate,  by  the  name 
and  style  of  "The  Trustees  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  the 
City  of  Savannah." 

Sec.  2.  And  be  it  further  enacted.  That  the  said  Trustees  and 
their  successors  in  office,  shall  be  invested  with  all  manner  of 
property,  real  and  personal,  all  monies  due,  and  to  grow  due,  do- 
nations, gifts,  grants,  privileges  and  immunities  whatsoever,  which 
shall  or  may  belong  to  the  said  Presbyterian  Church,  at  the  time  of 
the  passing  of  this  act,  or  which  shall,  or  may  at  any  time,  or 
times  hereafter,  be  granted,  given,  conveyed  or  transferred  to  them, 
or  their  successors  in  office,  to  have  and  to  hold,  the  same  to  the 
said  Trustees  and  their  successors  in  office,  to  the  only  proper  use, 
benefit  and  behoof  of  the  said  Church  forever.  And  the  said 
Trustees,  and  their  successors  in  office,  ma)'  have  and  use  a  com- 
mon seal,  and  shall  be,  and  the}'  are  hereby  declared  to  be  capable, 
by  the  name  and  style  aforesaid,  of  suing  and  being  sued,  implead- 
ing and  being  impleaded  in  any  court  or  courts  of  law  or  equity, 
and  of  using  and  taking  all  lawful  and  necessary  ways  and  means 
for  recovering  or  defending  any  property  whatsoever,  which  the 
said  Church  may  have,  hold,  claim  or  demand,  or  the  rents,  issues 
and  profits  thereof,  or  any  part  thereof. 

Sec.  3.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  above  named  Trus- 
tees shall  continue  in  office  until  Easter  Monday,  in  one  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  eight,  and  that  on  the  said  Easter  Monday,  one 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  eight,  annually  thereafter,  the  mem- 
bers of  the  said  Church  shall  convene  at  the  said  Church,  between 
the  hours  of  ten  and  two  o'clock,  and  then  and  there  elect,  from 
among  the  said  members,  nine  fit  and  discreet  persons,  as  Trus- 
tees of  the   said   Church,  who   shall  be  vested   with  all  necessary 


to  HISTORY  OF  THE 

powers,  to  carry  the  several  purposes  intended   by  this  act  into 
full  effect. 

Sec.  4.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  nothing  herein  con- 
tained, shall  be  construed  to  vest  in  the  said  Trustees,  any  right 
or  title,  or  color  of  right  or  title,  to  an)'^  estate  or  property  what- 
soever, real  or  personal,  other  than  such  as  doth,  or  may  right- 
full)^  or  lawfully  belong  to  the  said  Presbyterian  Church  or  con- 
gregation, hereby  made  a  body  corporate. 

Sec.  5.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  it  shall  not  be  lawful 
for  the  said  Trustees  or  their  successors  in  office,  at  any  time  or 
times  hereafter,  to  grant,  bargain,  sell,  alien  or  convey  any  real 
estate  whatsoever,  belonging  to  the  said  Church,  to  any  person  or 
persons,  under  any  pretence  or  upon  any  consideration  whatsoever, 
so  as  to  dispose  of  the  fee  simple  thereof. 

Sec.  6.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  an  act  entitled  "An 
Act  to  increase  the  funds  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  City 
of  Savannah,"  be,  and  the  same  is  hereb)'^  repealed, 

BENJAMIN  WHITAKER, 
Speaker  oj  the  House  of  Representatives. 
EDWARD  TELFAIR, 

President  of  the  Senate. 
Assented  to  December  8,  1806. 

JARED  IRWIN,   Governor. 


INDEPENDENT  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH.        it 


No.  308. 

AN  ACT 

To  amend  an  Act  entitled  "An  Act  to  incorporate  the  Presby- 
terian Church  of  the  Cit)'  of  Savannah."  \^See  lazvs  of  Ga., 
1801,  1810,  Claytons  Cotnpilatioii,  pages  ^o^,  406.] 
Section  i.  Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives of  the  State  of  Georgia,  in  General  Assembly  met,  and 
it  is  enacted  by  the  authority  of  the  same,  That  the  Trustees  ap- 
pointed in  and  by  the  said  act,  shall  continue  in  office  until  the 
first  Monday  in  January,  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  eight, 
and  no  longer;  and  that  on  the  said  first  Monday  in  January,  one 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  eight,  and  on  the  first  Monday  in  Jan- 
uary, in  each  succeeding  year,  the  pew-holders,  or  persons  rent- 
ing pews  in  the  said  Church,  shall  convene  at  the  said  Church,  be- 
tween the  hours  of  eleven  and  two  o'clock,  and  there  elect,  from 
among  the  said  pew-holders,  five  fit  and  discreet  persons  as  Trus- 
tees of  the  said  Church. 

Sec.  2.  And  be  it  further  enacted.  That  the  said  Trustees,  and 
their  successors  in  office,  shall  be  invested  with  all  manner  of 
property,  real  and  personal,  monies,  rights  and  immunities  what- 
ever, belonging  to  the  said  Presbyterian  Church,  and  shall  have, 
use  and  exercise,  the  same  powers  as  given  and  vested  in  the 
Trustees  named  and  appointed  in  said  act,  in  as  full  and  ample  a 
manner,  as  the  said  Trustees,  at  the  time  of  passing  this  act,  are 
invested  therewith,  under  and  by  virtue  of  the  act  aforesaid. 

BENJAMIN  WHITAKER, 
Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 
ROBERT  WALTON, 

President  of  the  Senate. 

Assented  to  November  27th,  1807. 

J  A  RED  IRWIN.   Governor. 


12  HISTORY  OF  THE 


No.  215 

AN  ACT 

To  empower  the  Trustees  of  the  Independent  Presbyterian  Church 
of  Savannah,  to  sell  the  real  estate  belonging  to  the  same,  and 
to  amend  an  Act  entitled  "An   Act  to  amend  an   Act  to  incor- 
porate   the    Presbyterian    Church    of    the    City    of    Savannah." 
^Laws  of  Georgia,  Dazvson  s  Compilation,  p.  102.] 
§1.   Be  it  enacted  by  the   Senate  and   House  of  Representatives 
of  the  State  of  Georgia  in  General  Assembly  met,  and  it  is  hereby 
enacted  by  the  authority  of  the  same,  That  the  body  corporate  cre- 
ated, and  the  Trustees  appointed  under  and  by  virtue  of  the  afore- 
said acts,  shall  be  entitled   and  styled   "the  Trustees  of  the  Inde- 
pendent Presbyteria  Church  of  Savannah,"  and  all  acts  done,  and 
all  deeds,   testaments,   gifts,    grants,    conveyances    and   contracts 
which  have  been  or   shall   be   made,  executed  or  entered  into  by, 
with,  or  to  them,  under  or  by  the  said  name  or  style,  or  any  other 
name  or  style  which  shall  describe  the  said  corporation  or  Church, 
or  efficiently  to  ascertain  the  intention   of  the   parties,  shall  be  as 
good  and  valid  in  law,  as   if  the   said   corporation   had    been   cor- 
rectly described  therein, 

§2.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid.  That 
the  said  Trustees  be,  and  the)-  are  hereby  authorized  and  em- 
powered to  sell  and  dispose,  in  fee  simple  or  otherwise,  of  the 
real  estate  belonging  to  the  said  Church  or  corporation, — the  half- 
tything  whereon  the  new  Presbyterian  Church  or  meeting-house  is 
situate,  excepted, — for  the  purpose  of  paying  the  debts  now  due, 
and  owing  by  the  said  corporation. 

§3.  And  be  it  further  enacted.  That  all  laws  and  parts  of  laws 
militating  with  this  act  be,  and  they  are  hereby  repealed. 

DAVID  WITT, 
Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 
MATTHEW  TALBOT, 

President  of  the  Senate. 
Assented  to  May  i6th,  1821. 

JOHN  CLARK,   Governor. 


INDEPENDENT  PRESB  YTERIAN  CHURCH. 


EC  I  S  T  C)  lE^  "Y" 

—  OF  THE  — 


—  OF  — 

FROM  1755  TO  1882. 


The  following  History  has  been  compiled  with  great 
care  by  one  of  the  Trustees,  the  information  contained 
therein  being  gathered  from  the  official  records  of  the 
Church  in  the  custody  of  the  Session  and  Trustees,  as 
well  as  from  other  reliable  and  authentic  sources. 

According  to  the  original  Grant  of  land  from  King 
George  IL,  as  well  as  from  the  Acts  of  the  Legislature 
and  Charter  of  subsequent  dates  (copies  of  \vhich  are 
appended),  it  is  ascertained  that  the  congregation  ob- 
tained the  grant  on  the  16th  day  of  January,  1756,  of 
Lot  K,  in  the  City  of  Savannah,  upon  which  to  build 
a  Church,  to  be  denominated  the  Independent  Piies- 
BYTERIAN  Church,  the  land  granted  and  the  Church 
built  under  said  grant  being  "  for  the  use  of  such  persons 
as  w^ere  then  residing  or  might  thereafter  reside  in  the 
District  of  Savannah,  as  were  professors  of  the  doctrines 


14  HISTORY  OF  THE 

of  the  Church  of  Scotland  agreeable  to  the  Westminster 
Confession  of  Faith." 

As  the  grant  was  obtained  in  January,  1756,  it  is 
reasonable  to  suppose  that  the  congregation  was  or- 
ganized at  some  previous  time,  certainly  not  later  than 
the  year  1755,  which,  for  want  of  earlier  reliable  infor- 
mation, may  be  taken  as  the  year  in  which  the  Church 
was  organized. 

While  the  Church  is  not  called  Independent  in  either 
the  grant  of  1756,  or  the  Cliarter  of  1806,  her  history 
plainly  proves  that  she  declared  herself  Independent 
from  the  first,  and  has  so  remained  during  the  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty-seven  years  of  her  existence. 

The  following  facts  corroborate  this  statement,  viz.: 
Among  the  manuscripts  of  Rev.  Ezra  Stiles,  D.  D.,  of 
Newport,  R.  L,  is  one  of  the  date  of  1760,  four  years 
after  the  date  of  the  grant,  enumerating  the  Southern 
ministers  and  churches.  In  Georgia  only  two  are  named, 
"  iMr.  Zubly,  of  Savannah,  Independent  Presbyterian, 
and  Mr.  Osgood,  of  Medway,  Congregational." 

The  following  extract  from  a  letter  written  by  Mr. 
Zubly,  of  Savannah,  to  Dr.  Stiles,  of  Newport,  April 
19th,  1769,  and  copied  from  Rev.  Dr.  Howe's  History  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church  of  South  Carolina,  shows  the 
status  of  the  Church  at  that  time;  Mr.  Zubly  being  the 
regular  Pastor : 

"  Since  my  last,  a  Presbyterian  meeting  is  set  on  foot 
in  this  place  as  the  house  I  preach  in  is  upon  so  general 
a  plan  as  to  receive  the  Westminster  Confession  of  Faith. 
Some  think  it  done  out  of  opposition  to  me;  however, 
Phil.  1,  18."  Upon  which  the  author,  Dr.  Howe,  com- 
ments as  follows:  ''These  allusions  we  do  not  fully 
understand.     Dr.  Zubly  was  ordained  in   the  German 


EXTRACT 

From  the  "  report  of  a  committee  of  pew  holders  of  the  In- 
dependent Presbyterian  Church,"  of  which  Oliver  Sturges 
was  chairman,  appointed  by  the  pew  holders  of  the  Church 
to  inquire  into  the  facts  concerning  the  action  of  Harmony 
Presbytery  at  White  Bluff,  in  reference  to  Dr.  Kollock,  and 
bearing  date  January  7,  18 16.  Said  report  being  among 
the  records  of  the  Trustees  in  1885. 
The  committee  commence  their  report  by  saying  : 
"  It  is  recollected  by  a  majority  of  those  to  whom  this  re- 
port is  submitted  that  at  a  meeting  of  the  members  and 
pew  holders  of  this  Church,  on  the  24th  of  May,  1814,  after 
full  deliberations  on  certain  proceedings  of  the  Presbytery 
of  Harmony,  they  did  resolve  that  this  church  was  in  its 
original  foundation  and  establishment,  and  by  its  renewed 
charter  hath  continued  to  be  an  Independent  Church, 
totally  free  from  the  superintendence,  control,  authority  or 
interference  of  any  Presbytery  whatever,  either  in  relation 
to  the  pastor  of  the  said  Church,  or  any  of  its  concerns. 
That  the  pretended  act  of  deposition  of  the  said  Presbytery 
of  Harmony  in  so  far  as  the  same  relates  to  the  pastor  of 
this  church,  its  Trustees,  pew  holders,  or  the  supporters 
hereof  is  utterly  null  and  void  and  of  none  effect,"  &c., 
&c.,  &c. 


INDEPENDENT  PRE  SB  YTERIAN  CHURCH. 


Reformed  Church  at  London,  August  19th,  1744.  There 
was  no  Presbyterian  organization  from  which  an  effort 
of  the  kind  aUuded  to  could  emanate  but  the  Presby- 
tery then  in  existence  in  South  Carolina." 

Dr.  Howe  gives  in  his  history  a  roll  of  the  members 
of  the  Presbytery  of  South  Carolina  prior  to  the  Revolu- 
tionary War,  and  Dr.  Zubly's  name  does  not  appear 
among  them,  although  he  preached  in  South  Carolina 
both  before  he  came  to  Savannah  and  after  he  left. 
There  was  no  Georgia  Presbytery  at  that  time,  the 
South  Carolina  Presbytery  holding  jurisdiction  over 
Georgia  as  well  as  South  Carolina.  Dr.  Howe  informs 
us  that  the  succession  of  the  old  Presbytery  of  South 
Carolina  was  interrupted  by  the  war  of  the  Revolution 
and  a  new  Presbytery  was  not  incorporated  until  1790. 

In  1805,  in  an  Act  passed  by  the  Georgia  Legisla- 
ture, the  Church  is  styled  the  Independent  Presbyterian 
Church,  though  in  the  Charter,  granted  in  180G,  the 
word  Independent  is  omitted.  This  must  have  been  an 
error,  for  we  find  that  in  the  year  1821  the  Legislature 
passed  another  Act  giving  the  correct  name  as  the  In- 
dependent Presbyterian  Church,  and  legalizing  all  acts, 
conveyances  and  contracts  made  by  the  Trustees,  under 
any  other  name  or  style  "as  if  the  corporation  had  been 
correctly  described  therein."  During  the  years,  how- 
ever, between  1806  and  1821,  the  records  show  that  the 
Church  was  independent;  for  example,  prior  to  1812, 
as  shown  hereafter,  one  of  the  Elders,  Dr.  Gumming, 
stated  on  the  floor  of  Harmony  Presbytery,  ''  that  the 
Church  was  and  would  remain  independent." 

In  1816  the  books  of  the  Trustees  record  a  meeting 
of  the  pewholders  of  the  '•  Independent  Presbyterian 
Church,"  at  which  the  committee  appointed  to  select 


i6  HISTORY  OF  THE 


the  site  for  a  new  Church,  reported  favorably  upon  those 
lots  where  the  present  Church  now  stands,  as  being 
among  the  most  central  and  eligible  for  the  erection  of  a 
''  Xew  Ixdependent  Presbyterian  Church."  Since 
1816  there  are  many  more  similar  entries,  but  the  fore- 
going will  suffice. 

There  is  at  this  time  a  sister  Church  in  Charleston, 
S.  C,  viz.:  the  First,  or  Scotch  Church,  being  the  first 
Presbyterian  Church  organized  in  that  State,  and  dating 
back  as  an  Independent  Church  to  1731.  A  Church  in- 
corporated Avith  the  same  principles  as  our  own,  it  has 
not  only  remained  always  independent  but  has  called 
all  its  ministers  from  Scotland.  That  Church,  how- 
ever, united  with  Presbytery  on  the  12th  of  March, 
1882.  The  practice  of  the  communicants  assembling 
at  a  table  is  a  Scotch  custom,  formerly  generally  ob- 
served in  all  Scotch  Churches  and  still  observed  in  our 
own  Church.  The  table,  being  covered  with  a  white 
cloth,  is  laid  the  entire  length  ot  the  broad  aisle,  as 
well  as  in  the  transept  aisles,  forming  a  cross,  with  the 
elements  at  the  intersection.  It  has  always  been  the 
custom  for  the  ministers  of  our  Church  to  wear  both 
gown  and  bands,  at  least  as  far  back  as  the  year  1800, 
beyond  which  reliable  information  on  this  subject  can- 
not be  obtained. 

Lot  K,  mentioned  in  the  grant  and  upon  which  the 
first  Church  was  built,  is  the  lot  between  Bryan  and  St. 
Julian  Streets,  facing  west  on  Market  Square  and  ex- 
tending east  to  Whitaker  Street.  The  following  nine 
gentlemen  were  appointed  by  the  Colonial  Government 
Trustees,  "  their  heirs  and  assigns  forever,"  viz.:  James 
Powell,  Robert  Bolton,  James  Miller,  Joseph  Gibbons, 
William   Gibbons,  Benjamin  Farley,  William  Wright, 


INDEPENDENT  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH.         17 

David  Fox  and  John  Fox.  A  brick  Church  was  built, 
and  completed  within  the  time  specified  in  the  ^rant, 
and  a  call  extended  to  Rev.  John  J.  Zubly,  who  accepted 
and  remained  Pastor  until  1778. 

The  following  information,  gathered  from  Sprague's 
Annals  of  the  American  Pulpit,  and  from  Rev.  George 
Howe's  History  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  South 
Carolina  may  be  of  interest:  As  early  as  1H3  the  in- 
habitants of  Vernonburg  and  villages  adjacent,  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Savannah,  addressed  a  petition  to  the 
Trustees  of  Georgia  desiring  a  minister  of  Calvanistic 
principles  be  sent  to  them,  and  recommended  Mr.  Zubly 
as  the  person  of  their  choice.  John  Joachim  Zubly  was 
born  at  St.  Gall,  Switzerland,  August  27th,  1724,  and 
was  ordained  in  London,  August  19,  1744,  coming  to 
this  country  at  once  to  take  charge  of  the  Churches 
above  mentioned.  He  remained  preaching  at  Vernon- 
burg and  Acton  to  the  Germans  for  three  years,  going 
thence  to  South  Carolina  in  1747. 

Mr.  Habersham,  writing  of  him  from  Savannah, 
under  date  of  August  3d,  1751,  says:  **Mr.  Zubly  is  a 
person  of  no  mean  parts  and  education,  yea,  I  may  say 
his  talents  are  extraordinary,  but  what  is  more  he  is  a 
faithful,  zealous  and  laborious  minister  of  the  gospel, 
and  would  to  God  our  colony,  or  rather  the  whole  world, 
Avas  filled  with  such." 

On  the  25th  of  April,  1758,  he  was  called  to  Savan- 
nah from  Wando  Neck,  South  Carolina,  and  accepted 
the  call,  preaching  his  farewell  sermon  January  28th, 
1750,  in  the  Independent  Presbyterian  Church  in 
Charleston.  He  took  charge  of  the  Indepen^dent 
Presbyterian  Church  at  Savannah  the  following 
year,  1760,  being  the  first  Pastor.  The  degree  of  D.  P, 
2 


i8  HISTOR  Y  OF  THE 

was  conferred  upon  him  by  the  college  in  New  Jersey 
in  1770.  Besides  preaching  to  his  own  congregation 
in  the  English  language,  he  preached  to  one  neighbor- 
ing congregation  in  German  and  to  another  in  French. 
Of  the  many  traditions  that  remain  of  "  Parson  Zubly," 
as  he  was  called,  there  are  none  which  do  not  accord  to 
him  great  learning  and  ability.  At  the  commencement 
of  the  dispute  between  the  mother  country  and  her 
American  colonies.  Dr.  Zubly  took  a  decided  and  active 
part  with  the  latter,  and  in  the  London  Magazine  for 
January  1776,  may  be  found  a  fervid  appeal  over  his 
signature  in  behalf  of  the  colonies.  This  paper  was 
published  at  the  request  of  "an  old  correspondent" 
signing  himself  "  0,"  and  who  was  no  other,  as  is  sup- 
posed, than  the  founder  of  Georgia,  General  James  E. 
Oglethorpe.  *  *  Such  was  the  confidence  of  the 
people  of  Georgia  in  Dr.  Zubly  that  he  was  appointed 
a  delegate  to  the  Continental  Congress,  of  which  he 
was  a  member  in  1775  and  1776.  *  *  It  appears 
by  his  correspondence  that  he  was  in  Savannah  during 
the  siege  of  that  place  by  the  American  and  French 
armies  in  1779,  and  that  his  losses  in  property,  books, 
etc.,  during  the  war  were  considerable.  *  *  He 
died  some  where  in  South  Carolina  on  the  23d  of  July, 
1781,  and  his  remains  Avere  afterwards  brought  to  Sa- 
vannah and  there  interred. 

While  at  the  opening  of  the  struggle  Dr.  Zubly  had 
strongly  favored  the  colonies,  yet  when  the  separation 
from  the  mother  country  came,  he  opposed  it.  During 
the  war  he  apparently  lost  the  confidence  of  his  people 
by  his  loyalty  to  the  King,  and  this  may  have  been  the 
cause  of  his  leaving  the  Church  in  1778. 

Eev.  Mr.  Simpson  writes  from  Savannah,  under  date 
of  March  22d,   1781,   that  "  I  walked  into   Savannah, 


INDEPENDENT  PRE  SB  YTERIAN  CHURCH.        19 

which  has  suffered  much  by  the  late  war.  Visited  my 
old  fripud,  Mr.  Zubly's,  meeting  house,  which  is  in  a 
very  ruinous  condition,  and  has  a  chimney  in  the  middle 
of  it,  having  been  a  hospital.  Mr.  Zubly  died  some 
years  ago,  having  in  his  last  days  acted  a  very  incon- 
sistent part,  changing  sides  from  Congress  to  British, 
and  died  despised  by  both,  yet  I  am  persuaded  he  was  a 
real  good  man  and  that  he  is  now  in  the  kingdom  of 
Heaven." 

After  Dr.  Zubly  the  pulpit  was  supplied  by  Rev.  Mr. 
Phillips  until  1790  and  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Johnston  until 
1793.  Mr.  Phillips  was  probably  not  a  regularly  or- 
dained minister.  Both  of  these  gentlemen  were  sent 
out  to  Savannah  by  Lady  Huntingdon  to  have  charge 
of  the  Orphan  Asylum  established  by  herself  and  Whit- 
field at  Bethesda.  Rev.  Mr.  McCall  was  called  in  1794, 
but  died  in  1796.  Rev.  Walter  Monteith  came  in  1797 
and  left  in  1799,  and  it  is  uncertain  whether  he  was  the 
regular  Pastor  or  not.  During  his  stay,  viz.:  in  1796, 
the  Church  was  destroyed  by  fire,  and  until  a  new  one 
could  be  built,  the  congregation  worshipped  in  the 
Baptist  Church  (the  Baptist  congregation  having  no 
pastor),  until  they  called  Dr.  Holcombe,  after  which  the 
Presbyterian  congregation  used  the  Baptist  Church  half 
of  each  Sunday  until  the  new  Church  was  finished  in 
the  year  1800.  This  second  Church  was  built  on  lot  Q, 
which  had  been  purchased  by  the  congregation,  and  is 
situated  on  St.  James  Square,  between  York  and  Presi- 
dent Streets,  just  opposite  and  east  of  where  Trinity 
Methodist  Church  now  stands.  Afterwards  the  Trustees 
erected  stores  on  the  old  lot  K,  leasing  them  to  outside 
parties  until  they  were  finally  sold.  This  second  Church 
was  a  frame  building.     During  the  great  storm  of  1804 


20  HIS  TOR  V  OF  THE 

the  spire  was  blown  down,  its  fall  being  witnessed  by 
persons  living  in  the  neighborhood. 

Eev.  Robert  Smith  was  called,  in  the  year  1800,  to  take 
charge  of  the  new  Church.  He  died  in  1803  while 
absent  for  his  health,  and  the  Rev.  Robert  Kerr  preached 
that  Summer,  but  he  also  died  before  Fall  of  bilious 
fever  and  was  buried  in  the  Old  Cemetery.  At  his 
death  the  congregation  presented  his  widow  with  one 
thousand  five  hundred  dollars.  Rev.  Samuel  Clarkson 
then  discharged  the  duties  of  Pastor  until  1806,  al- 
though he  had  no  regular  call. 

In  the  year  1805,  all  the  original  Trustees  being  dead, 
and  the  Church  property  being  under  the  control  and 
management  of  Barrach  Gibbons,  brother  of  William 
Gibbons,  who  was  one  of  the  original  Trustees ;  the 
Legislature  appointed  two  additional  Trustees  to  serve 
with  Barrach  Gibbons,  viz.:  Joseph  Bryan  and  Josiah 
Gibbons  Telfair.  In  the  year  1806,  the  Legislature 
passed  another  Act  chartering  the  Church,  repealed  the 
former  Act  and  appointed  nitie  new  Trustees,  constitut- 
ing them  a  corporate  body  capable  of  suing  and  being 
sued,  which  Trustees  were  to  remain  in  office  only  until 
Easter  Monday  of  that  year,  when  their  successors  were 
to  be  elected  by  the  members  of  the  Church,  this  elec- 
tion to  take  place  annually.  The  Trustees  were  therein 
restrained  from  selling  any  of  the  Church  property. 

In  the  Fall  of  1806  Rev.  Henry  Kollock,  D.  D.,  was 
called,  with  a  salary  of  $3,000,  and  accepted,  remaining 
until  his  death,  which  occurred  thirteen  years  alter. 
Dr.  Kollock  was  born  in  New  Jersey  in  1778,  went  to 
college  at  the  age  of  thirteen,  was  licensed,  ordained 
and  installed  in  a  Church  in  Elizabeth,  N.  J.,  in  1800, 
where   he  remained   three  years  and  then  moved  to 


IhTDEPENDEk  T  PRE  SB  YTERIA  JSf  CH  UR  CH.        2  i 


Princeton,  where,  in  1806,  the  degree  of  D.  D.  was  con- 
ferred upon  him. 

In  ]\"ovember,  1807,  the  Legislature  passed  an  Act 
reducing  the  number  of  Trustees  to  five,  and  changing 
the  time  of  the  annual  election  to  the  first  Monday  in 
January,  votes  to  be  cast  by  the  pewholders  instead  of 
by  the  members  as  heretofore.  \x\  the  year  1808  a 
sounding-board  "of  modern  style"  was  placed  over  the 
pulpit  in  the  Church  at  a  cost  of  eighty  dollars.  In 
the  Spring  of  1809  Dr.  Kollock  was  called  to  take 
charge  of  a  new  Church  in  Boston,  Mass.  He  there- 
fore resigned  his  charge  in  Savannah  and  proceeded  to 
Boston.  Not  finding  the  people  congenial  however,  he 
declined  to  be  installed,  but  preached  to  them  during 
the  Summer  and  returned  to  Savannah  and  his  charge 
in  the  Fall. 

The  following  account  of  Dr.  Kollock's  connection 
with  Presbytery,  written  by  Dr.  John  Cumming,  will 
be  of  interest.     Writing  of  Dr.  Kollock  he  says : 

"Educated  in  a  section  of  the  country  essentially 
Presbyterian,  and  finding  himself  the  pastor  of  an  In- 
dependent Church,  he  early  thought  of  uniting  him- 
self to  a  Presbytery,  but  unwilling  to  call  up  a  measure 
which  he  had  much  reason  to  believe  would  be  opposed, 
he  remained  silent.  Some  of  his  friends  knowing  his 
wishes  brought  the  subject  before  the  congregation." 

"  After  mature  deliberation  it  was  determined  that  no 
opposition  would  be  made  to  his  becoming  a  member  of 
Presbytery,  but  whilst  the  wishes  of  their  beloved  pastor 
would  not  be  opposed,  measures  should  be  taken,  if  he 
carried  his  views  into  effect,  to  prevent  the  Church 
from  losing  its  inaependent  character.  He  having 
considered  the  subject  and  having  determined  to  unite 


2^  HISTORY  OF  THE 

himself  with  Presbytery,  the  Church  resolved  to  send  a 
delegate  with  him  to  Augusta,  where  the  Presbytery 
was  to  meet." 

This  was  probably  one  of  the  ^'  measures  taken  to  pre- 
vent the  Church  from  losing  its  independent  character," 
as  Dr.  Cumming's  actions  on  the  floor  of  Presbytery 
proves.  Dr.  John  Cumming  (father  of  the  late  G-.  B. 
Cumming),  by  whom  this  account  was  written,  was 
that  delegate  who  went  with  Dr.  Kollock  to  the  meeting 
of  Harmony  Presbytery. 

"  When  his  name  was  called,  this  delegate  rose  and 
said  that  he  appeared  there  as  an  Elder  of  the  Church 
in  Savannah,  not  as  a  member  of  Presbytery  but  was 
delegated  by  the  Church  to  declare  that  whilst  the  wishes 
of  the  Pastor  were  not  opposed,  the  Church  was  and 
would  remain  independent.  He  was  accordingly  ad- 
mitted and  the  Church  was  not  committed." 

"  After  this  meeting  of  Presbytery  and  before  Dr. 
Kollock  left  Augusta,  hoping  to  induce  his  congrega- 
tion to  join  Presbytery,  he  requested  that  body  to  hold 
their  next  meeting  in  Savannah,  which  was  done. 
After  returning  from  Augusta,  Dr.  Kollock  informed 
the  Elder  who  had  accompanied  him,  that  he  began  to 
examine  into  the  scriptural  authority  for  Church 
Government,  and  as  his  investigation  proceeded,  he  was 
surprised  to  find,  that  what  he  had,  from  education  and 
habit,  taken  for  granted,  had  not  the  foundation  he  ex- 
pected, and  that  neither  the  writings  of  the  Apostles 
nor  the  practice  of  the  primitive  Christians,  clearly  de- 
cided the  Presbyterian  form  to  be  that  enjoined  or 
practiced  in  the  early  age  of  the  Church.  On  the  con- 
trary, it  rather  appeared  to  him  that  each  Church  was 
regulated  by  its  members,  the  Apostles  only  being  con- 


INDEPENDENT  PRE  SB  YTERIAN  CHURCH.        2^ 


suited  when  cases  occurred  which  requiring  their  ad- 
vice." 

"Still,  however,  seeing  no  objection  to  Presbyterian 
usages  and  being  still  anxious  to  have  his  Church  con- 
nected with  Presbytery,  he  hoped  that  the  opposition 
would  be  removed  when  the  members  of  the  congrega- 
tion became  acquainted  with  the  modes  of  proceeding, 
supposing  it  to  be  a  prejudice  which  would  yield  to 
familiarity  with  the  subject." 

"  Presbytery  did  meet  in  Savannah,  but  he  found  the 
opposition  as  great  or  greater  than  ever.  Having  his 
confidence  shaken  by  the  examination  he  had  made,  and 
unwilling  on  a  doubtful  point  to  separate  himself  from 
his  people,  he  resolved  to  withdraw  himself  from  Pres- 
bytery." 

"  In  the  Fall,  therefore,  of  1812,  being  summoned  to 
an  extra  meeting  of  Presbytery,  he  sent  his  resignation 
to  the  Moderator,  and  it  was  delivered  to  Rev.  Mr. 
Thompson,  of  Augusta,  Ga.,  the  then  Moderator,  about 
ten  days  before  the  extra  meeting  which  was  to  be  held 
in  Edgefield,  S.  C." 

^'  Mr.  Thompson  had  simply  informed  Dr.  Kollock  that 
the  extra  meeting  was  called  to  investigate  the  conduct 
of  a  brother.  When  he  received  the  declinature  he  in- 
formed Dr.  Kollock  that  he  was  the  accused.  His 
resignation  was  then  in  Mr.  Thompson's  hands,  and  he 
denied  the  authority  of  Presbytery  to  cite  him  after  his 
declinature  was  received." 

Dr.  Gumming  adds  that  he  "  saw  the  whole  corres- 
pondence of  which  the  above  is  an  abstract  in  the  order 
of  time." 

"  Dr.  Kollock  did  not  attend  at  Edgefield,  and  he  was 
again  cited  to  attend  a  regular  meeting  of  Presbytery  in 


24  HISTOR  Y  OF  THE 

Augusta,  still  informing  him  that  it  was  his  case  which 
required  his  attendance,  but  gave  no  copy  of  the  charges 
against  him.  Several  members  of  the  Session  were 
summoned  to  give  evidence  in  this  case,  and  fearing  that 
by  non-attendance  the  truth  of  the  charges  would  be 
taken  for  granted,  one  of  the  Session  attended/'' 

"  The  Elder  was  desired  to  give  evidence,  which  he  was 
ready  to  do,  provided  he,  together  with  all  the  witnesses, 
were  put  under  oath.  This  Presbytery  declined  to  do, 
and  therefore  his  evidence  was  not  given  at  all." 

"  Everyone  was  permitted  to  say  what  he  pleased  and 
much  that  was  thought  to  be  untrue  was  said.  Without 
hesitation  after  this  ridiculous  trial  Presbytery  declared 
Dr.  Kollock  to  be  contumacious  and  suspended  him. 
and  at  a  subsequent  meeting  in  Charleston  deposed 
him.  So  malignant  was  one  of  the  members  of  Pres- 
bytery that  he  stood  in  the  streets  of  Princeton  and 
handed  a  copy  of  the  proceedings,  in  the  form  of  a 
hand-bill,  to  any  one  who  would  take  it,  on  the  Sab- 
bath, as  the  congregation  left  the  Church.  The  whole 
proceeding  was  irregular.  The  General  Assembly  called 
on  Presbytery  for  a  certified  copy.  After  many  delays 
it  was  furnished  and  laid  on  the  Clerk's  table.  When 
it  was  to  be  taken  up  the  paper  was  not  to  be  found, 
some  person  having  taken  it  away.  The  investigation 
was  never  renewed." 

(See  manuscript  of  Church  History  by  Dr.  John 
Cumming.) 

"  Pending  the  proceedings.  Dr.  Kollock  tendered  his 
resignation,  viz  :  April  16th,  1813,  to  the  congregation 
which  was  not  accepted.  The  congregation  presented 
him  with  a  purse  of  $1,500  and  begged  him  to  remain." 

"In  June,  1816,  a  meeting  of  the  pewholders  was 
called,  and  several  documents  relating  to  the  proceed- 


INDEPENDENT  PRESS  YTERIAN  CHURCH.        25 


iiigs  of  the  Presbytery  of  Harmony  were  read  and  the 
conduct  of  Dr.  Kollock  in  respect  to  said  proceedings, 
whereupon  it  was  resolved  to  appoint  a  committee  to  in- 
quire into  the  circumstances,  collect  evidence  and  re- 
port to  the  congregation.  This  committee  was  appointed, 
but  there  is  no  record  that  they  ever  acted." 

In  the  year  1815  a  parsonage  was  purchased  for  $8,000, 
which  is  the  building  now  occupied  by  the  Kollock 
family,  on  the  southwest  side  of  Wright  Square  and 
directly  west  of  the  Court  House. 

In  the  following  year,  1816,  the  congregation  had  in- 
creased to  such  an  extent  that  the  building  would  not 
contain  them,  and  it  was  determined  to  build  another 
Church.  On  the  20th  of  April,  of  that  year,  a  Build- 
ing Committee  was  appointed  to  select  a  site  and  attend 
to  the  building  of  another  Church,  which  should  be 
large  enough  to  contain  the  growing  congregation  for  a 
long  time.  This  committee  selected  the  five  lots  on  the 
south  side  of  South  Broad  Street,  between  Bull  and 
Whitaker  Streets,  where  the  present  Church  now  stands, 
and  proceeded  with  the  work.  Lots  No.  17  and  18, 
Columbia  Ward,  property  of  the  Church,  were  sold  by 
permission  of  City  Council  March  6th,  1817.  The 
corner-stone  of  this,  the  present  Church,  was  laid  with 
very  impressive  ceremonies  on  the  loth  of  January, 
1817,  the  following  account  of  which  was  taken  from 
the  Savannah  Gazette  of  Thursday,  January  16th,  1817  : 

•^^  At  half-past  ten  o'clock  the  citizens  assembled  and 
moved  in  procession  from  the  present  Church  to  the 
site  of  the  new  building  in  the  following  order: 

Pastor  of  the  Church  and  other  Clergy; 

Members  of  the  Session ; 

Trustees  j 


26  HISTORY  OF  THE 

Building  Committee  and  Architect; 

Mayor  and  Aldermen,  attended 

by  their  officers; 

Judges  of  the  Superior  Court,  attended  by 

the  Sherifi'and  officers  of  the  Court; 

Grand  Jury ; 

Judges  of  the  Inferior  Court,  attended  by 

their  officers; 

Gentlemen  of  the  Bar ; 

Citizens. 

"The  services  were  commenced  by  a  suitable  hymn. 
The  corner-stone  was  then  laid  in  the  name  of  the 
Holy  and  Adorable  Trinity.  In  it  was  deposited  a  plate, 
on  which  the  following  inscription  was  engraved  : 

This  Corner-Stone 

of  the 

Independent  Presbyterian  Church 

was  laid  on  the 

13th  Day  of  January,  A.  D.  1817. 

Pastor  of  the  Church, 
Rev.    Henry   Kollock. 

Me7nbers  of  the  Sessiofi, 
Edward  Stebbins,  John  Gumming, 

John  Bolton,  John  Hunter, 

Moses  Cleland,  Benjamin  Burroughs. 

Trustees, 

Oliver  Sturges,  Edward  Stebbins, 

Thomas  Young,  William  Taylor, 

John  Hunter. 


WDEPENDENT  PRE  SB  YTERIAN-  CHURCti.        27 

Building  Committee, 
John  Bolton,  George  Anderson, 

Lemuel  Kollock,  Benjamin  Burroughs, 

R.  Richardson,  Robert  Isaac, 

John  Hunter. 

Architect, 

John  Green. 

This  Stone  Shall  be  God's  House. — Gen.,  xxviii,  22. 

"  The  services  were  concluded  by  an  address  and 
prayer  from  the  Rev.  Dr.  Kollock." 

John  H.  Green,  the  architect,  came  from  New  York 
and  remained  as  long  as  his  services  were  needed,  re- 
ceiving five  dollars  a  day  while  in  Savannah.  Some  of 
the  pews  were  sold  before  the  Church  was  finished  to 
raise  the  necessary  funds  for  continuing  the  work,  and 
the  Columbian  Musexcm  and  Savannah  Daily  Gazette 
of  Tuesday,  May  12th,  1818,  comments  as  follows: 

"Sixty  Thousand  Dollars. 

"Yesterday  most  of  the  pews  on  the  lower  floor  in 
the  new  Independent  Presbyterian  Church,  now  build- 
ing in  this  city,  were  sold  at  public  sale  for  the  above 
amount." 

During  the  year  1818,  so  many  persons  had  issued 
what  were  called  "change  bills"  and  money  had  in 
consequence  depreciated  to  such  an  extent  that  Dr. 
Kollock's  salary  was  raised  to  $4,000.  He  went  to 
Europe  that  Summer  and  the  congregation  paid  his 
passage,  etc.  In  the  Fall  he  returned  and  resumed  his 
labors.  In  May,  1819,  the  Church  was  finished  and 
dedicated,  and  a  marble  tablet  placed  over  the  door, 
with  an  inscription  in  Latin,  of  which  the  following  is 
a  translation : 


2S  HISTORY  OF  THE 


"  TO  JEHOVAH, 
Father,  Son  and  Holy  Ghost. 


The    Citizens    of    Savannah,   under   the   Pastoral 

care  of  Henry  Kollock,  D.  D.,  solemnly 

dedicate  this  building  sacred  to 

Divine  Worship. 


Founded  A.  D.  1817.     Completed  A.  D.  1819." 

The  total  cost  of  this  building,  not  including  the  five 
lots,  was  $06,108.67|.  The  proposed  width  of  the  middle 
aisle  was  twelve  feet,  but  afterwards  it  was  reduced  to 
eleven  ;  the  proposed  width  of  the  side  aisles  was  six 
and  a  half  feet,  afterwards  reduced  to  live  and  a  half; 
width  of  pews  on  broad  aisle  three  feet  two  inches,  length 
tw^elve  feet ;  width  of  pews  on  side  aisles,  next  the  wall, 
six  feet  four  inches,  length  five  feet  six  inches,  being 
nearly  square,  with  seats  on  two  sides ;  other  pews  on 
side  aisles  nine  feet  long  and  thr*?e  feet  and  two  inches 
wide ;  galleries  thirteen  feet  wide ;  size  of  main  build- 
ing eighty  by  one  hundred  feet,  to  accommodate  1,350 
people.  By  recent  measurements  the  height  of  the 
steeple,  from  the  ground  to  the  top  of  the  lightning 
rod,  is  two  hundred  and  twenty-three  feet.  Inside  the 
building,  from  the  centre  of  the  dome  to  the  floor,  is 
forty-four  feet.  Notwithstanding  the  large  capacity  of 
the  Church,  old  members  of  the  congregation  say  that 
during  the  services  held  by  Dr.  Kollock,  the  building 
could  not  comfortably  contain  the  congregation. 

The  following  is  an  extract  from  the  Columbian 
Museum  and  Savaimah  Daily  Gazette  published  Mon- 
day, May  10th,  1819: 


INDEPENDENT  PRE  SB  YTERIAN  CHURCH.        29 

"  New  Church." 

'*  Yesterday  the  new  Independent  Presbyterian  Church, 
which  has  been  building  in  this  city  and  now  nearly 
finished,  was  solemnly  dedicated  to  the  service  of  Al- 
mighty God.  An  able  and  impressive  discourse  was  de- 
livered from  the  second  chapter  of  Haggai,  and  ninth 
verse.  For  grandeur  of  design  and  neatness  of  execu- 
tion, we  presume  this  Church  is  not  surpassed  by  any 
in  the  United  States.  It  is  seldom  that  we  discover  a 
scene  more  affecting  and  impressive  than  this  solemn 
ceremony  afforded;  and  in  this  city  we  never  witnessed 
such  an  immense  congregation,  so  large  a  portion  of 
which  was  formed  by  female  beauty;  also  the  President 
of  the  United  States  and  suite,  and  other  distinguished 
personages  belonging  to  the  Army  and  Navy  of  the 
United  States,  who  listened  with  pious  attention  to  the 
learned,  appropriate  and  eloquent  discourse  of  the 
reverend  Pastor.  In  no  other  than  the  house  of  God, 
in  the  midst  of  so  imposing  a  scene,  we  could,  and  with 
emphasis,  echo  the  words  of  the  reverend  preacher,  Dr. 
Henry  Kollock,  '  The  glory  of  this  latter  house  shall 
be  greater  than  the  former,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts,  and 
in  this  place  will  I  give  peace,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts.' 
The  psalms  and  hymns  interspersed  through  the  service 
were  peculiarly  well  adapted  to  the  solemnity  of  the 
occasion,  and  the  performance  of  the  vocal  music  tended 
to  elevate  the  soul  to  sublime  and  heavenly  musings. 
The  respectful  attention  and  the  fervency  of  the 
responses  all  combined  to  induce  the  belief  that  the 
heart  accompanied  the  lips  in  supi)lication  to  the  throne 
of  Divine  Grace." 

The  following  is  an  extract  from  the  sermon  delivered 
by  Dr.  Kollock  upon  the  occasion : 


30  HISTOR  Y  OF  THE 

*  *  *  *  "You  see,  my  brethren,  the  purposes 
for  which  this  house  is  built — it  is  dedicated  to  God. 
It  never  should,  I  trust  and  believe  that  it  never  will, 
be  employed  for  any  secular  purpose.  In  the  tablet 
placed  over  the  door  you  declare  that  it  is  sacred  to 
Divine  worship  alone.  Let  it  be  a  spot  to  which  we 
never  bring  the  cares  of  earth,  the  occupations  of  the 
world,  into  which  we  never  enter  without  thinking  of 
God  our  Redeemer." 

"  It  is  true,  the  walls  and  stones  have  no  inherent 
holiness  unconnected  with  the  pure  worship  of  God  in 
this  place,  but  we  cry  with  thd  Psalmist — •  Holiness  be- 
cometh  thine  house,  0  Lord,  forever.'  We  are  followers 
of  that  Redeemer,  who  with  indignation  cast  out  from 
the  temple  those  who  employed  it  for  secular  and  worldly 
purposes.  *  *  *  *  And  ^now  most  glorious  God, 
we  look  to  Thee;  to  Thee  the  great  Jehovah,  Father,  Son 
and  Holy  Ghost,  we  solemnly  consecrate  this  house,  and 
dedicate  and  set  apart  for  the  pure  preaching  of  Thy 
Word,  for  the  administration  of  the  sacraments,  for  the 
praises  of  our  own  God,  prayer,  for  supplication,  and 
for  all  the  offices  of  devotion.  *  *  *  *  Let  all 
dissension  and  hatred  ever  be  excluded,  and  may  this 
be  the  house  of  love  and  peace,  as  well  as  of  holiness. 
*  *  *  *  'j'tjig  ig  i^Q^  tije  house  of  God  and  the 
gate  of  Heaven,  the  Lord  is  here,  and  we  know  it." 

In  conformity  with  the  views  expressed  above,  as  well 
as  with  the  language  of  the  inscription  upon  the  tablet 
over  the  door,  the  Trustees,  up  to  the  year  1832,  positive- 
ly and  emphatically  declined  to  permit  the  building  to 
be  used  for  any  but  religious  services.  In  April,  1828, 
Mr.  Geo.  W.  Anderson  applied  for  the  use  of  the  Church 
in  which   to  celebrate  the  anniversary  of   the  Union 


INDEPENDENT  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH.        31 

Society,  but  the  Trustees  in  reply  resolved  "that  they 
would  not  consent  to  the  Church  being  used  for  any 
other  than  Divine  worship,  except  for  the  transaction 
of  business  by  the  pewholders  in  general  meeting."  In 
the  year  1832,  however,  application  having  been  made 
for  the  use  of  the  Church  upon  the  one  hundredth  an- 
niversary of  the  birth  of  George  Washington,  for  ser- 
vices, religious,  civil  and  military,  the  Trustees  granted 
the  request,  '•  on  account  of  the  extraordinary  circum- 
stances which  cannot  occur  again  in  the  lifetime  of  any 
individual  taking  part  in  it,  making  it  an  exception  to 
the  rule  established  by  this  Board,  and  it  be  not  con- 
sidered as  a  precedent."  Subsequent  to  1840  the  records 
show  that  the  Trustees  became  lax,  and  permitted  the 
building  to  be  used  several  times  for  eulogies  and  orations 
and  once  for  a  sacred  concert,  notwithstanding  the  fact 
that  it  Avas  dedicated  "Sacred  to  Divine  Worship." 

On  the  29th  of  December,  1819,  Dr.  Kollock  died  very 
suddenly  at  the  parsonage,  aged  forty-one.  His  re- 
mains were  surrendered  to  the  Trustees,  at  their  earnest 
solicitations,  by  his  widow,  on  condition  that  her  body 
should  be  placed  by  his  at  her  death.  The  Trustees 
erected  a  vault  in  the  Old  Cemetery,  in  which  his  re- 
mains were  deposited.  They  also  placed  a  monument 
over  the  vault,  surrounded  it  with  an  iron  railing  and 
placed  a  memorial  tablet  in  the  Church. 

In  March,  1854,  application  was  made  by  James  M. 
Wayne  for  permission  to  remove  the  monument  and 
remains  to  Laurel  Grove  Cemetery,  which  request  was 
granted  by  the  Trustees.  There  is  no  evidence  that  the 
project  was  ever  carried  out. 

At  Dr.  Kollock's  death  the  whole  city  was  draped  in 
mourning,   stores   were  closed  and  universal  grief  ex- 


32  HISTORY  OF  THE 

pressed.  All  the  city  officers,  members  of  the  bar, 
societies,  Judges,  children  of  the  schools,  and  citizens 
generally,  attended  his  funeral. 

Twelve  days  after  his  death,  on  the  10th  of  January, 
1820,  a  great  fire  occurred  which  destroyed  the  two 
buildings  owned  by  the  Church  on  the  lot  where  the 
first  Church  had  stood.  One  of  the  buildings  was  hardly 
finished,  and  as  the  Trustees  had  been  waiting  until  it 
was  completed  to  take  out  insurance  on  it,  it  was  a  total 
loss;  the  other  building,  on  the  same  lot,  was  covered 
by  insurance.  The  loss  to  the  Church  by  this  fire  was 
estimated  at  $40,000. 

As  the  debts  of  the  Church  at  this  time  amounted  to 
over  $90,000,  caused  partly  by  the  improvements  placed 
on  lot  K,  application  Avas  made  to  the  Legislature  for 
permission  to  sell  the  property  of  the  Church,  and  ac- 
cordingly an  Act  was  passed  by  that  body  in  May,  1821, 
granting  permission  to  sell  all  the  Church  property 
except  the  lots  on  which  the  new  building  stood.  The 
property  was  accordingly  sold,  the  lot  K  and  improve- 
ments  bringing  $35,000.  An  assessment  of  seventy  per 
cent,  was  levied  on  all  fee-simple  pews.  Those  owners 
of  pews  who  declined,  or  neglected  to  pay,  forfeited 
their  titles,  and  the  pews  reverted  to  the  Church  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  wording  of  all  the  titles  to  the  fee- 
simple  pews.  By  these  means  the  debt  was  reduced  to 
$20,000,  and  subsequently  discharged  by  private  con- 
tributions. 

The  congregation  purchased  Dr.  Kollock's  library 
from  his  widow  for  $2,500,  giving  a  bond  for  that 
amount,  to  bear  interest  at  eight  per  cent,  until  paid. 
The  amount  was  paid  eventually,  but  not  until  the  in- 
terest had  run  up  to  over  $600,  making  the  total  cost  of 


INDEPENDEN  T  PRE  SB  V  TERIA  N  CH  UR  CH.        3  3 


the  library  something  over  $3,100.  This  library  was 
bought  "for  every  succeeding  incumbent,"  and  thus 
became  the  property  of  the  Church.  What  remains  of 
it  is  now  at  the  parsonage,  but  is  in  very  bad  condition. 

The  old  parsonage  was  sold  for  $8,000  and  also  the 
other  Church  property. 

The  organ  was  finished  in  1820  at  a  cost  of  $3,500, 
and  Lowell  Mason,  the  well  known  composer  of  church 
music,  was  engaged  as  organist  with  a  salary  of  $300 
per  annum.  It  was  during  this  engagement  of  Lowell 
Mason's  that  he  composed  the  well  known  tune  '•  Mis- 
sionary Hymn"  and  set  it  to  the  words  of  the  hymn  '"From 
Greenland's  Icy  Mountains"  (written  by  Bishop  Heber) 
for  use  at  a  missionary  meeting  in  this  Church,  where 
it  was  sung  for  the  first  time. 

After  the  death  of  Dr.  Kollock,  the  pulpit  was  sup- 
plied by  Rev.  Wm.  Wallace  and  Rev.  Mr.  Capers  for  one 
year;  in  January,  1821,  Rev.  Mr.  Otterson  was  engaged 
to  supply  the  pulpit  with  a  salary  of  $125  a  month,  and 
after  him  Rev.  Mr.  Magee  preached  for  a  short  time; 
Rev.  Daniel  Baker  was  called,  but  declined  the  call ; 
Rev.  Dr.  Snodgrass  was  called  in  January,  1822,  from 
North  Carolina  as  regular  Pastor,  at  a  salary  of  $2,500, 
but  remained  only  until  June,  1823;  Rev.  Samuel  B. 
Howe,  D.  D.,  of  New  Brunswick,  was  then  called  and 
remained  until  the  Summer  of  1827. 

In  June  of  this  year,  1827,  according  to  the  records 
of  the  Trustees,  Lowell  Mason,  organist,|left  the  Church. 
It  was  during  this  year  that  several  members  of  the 
congregation  left  the  Church  and  established  what  is 
now  known  as  the  First  Church,  on  account  of  its  hav- 
ing been  the  first  Church  established  in  Savannah  con- 
nected with  Presbytery. 
3 


34  HISTORY  OF  THE 

This  portion  of  the  history  is  best  described  by  Mrs. 
S.  Hancock,  of  Apalachicola,  Florida,  formerly  Miss 
Susan  Brainard,  who,  coming  from  the  North  about  this 
time,  was  one  of  the  original  members  of  that  Church. 

The  following  extract  from  a  letter,  written  by  her  to 
a  friend  in  Savannah,  dated  March  5th,  1875,  states  the 
facts  relating  to  the  origin  of  that  Church,  which  facts 
are  fully  corroborated  by  many  of  the  present  members 
of  both  Churches. 

She  says:  "The  First  Presbyterian  Church  was 
formed  in  the  Fall  of  1827.  Some  of  the  members  of 
the  Independent  Presbyterian  Church  were  dissatisfied 
with  their  Church  government,  and  resolved  to  secede, 
and  form  a  Presbyterian  Church  governed  by  a  Presby- 
tery. The  names  of  these  persons  who  seceded  were 
Mr.  Joseph  Cumming,  a  Deacon  in  the  Church  ;  Dr. 
Coppee,  Mr.  George  Faries,  Mr.  Lowell  Mason,  with 
their  families  (Miss  Mary  Lavender  joined  from  the 
Methodist  Church) ;  Captain  Crabtree  and  family,  Mr. 
Wells,  myself,  and  others  whose  names  I  do  not  recollect. 
The  first  preacher  I  do  not  recollect,  but  think  it  was 
Eev.  Mr.  Boggs,  who  taught  school  at  the  same  time." 

"  In  1829,  Dr.  Josejoh  Stiles  was  our  Pastor,  and  under 
his  preaching  there  was  a  large  accession  to  the  Church. 
We  had  a  very  interesting  Sabbath  School,  Mr.  Joseph 
Cumming,  Superintendent.  Our  place  of  meeting  was 
in  a  large  building,  on  Broughton  Street,  up  stairs, 
known  as  Lyceum  Hall." 

After  Dr.  Howe  left  the  Church,  Rev.  Wm.  Ford  and 
Rev.  Mr.  White  preached  until  1828.  Rev.  Daniel 
Baker,  D.  D.,  of  Washington,  D.  C,  came  in  April  of 
that  year  and  filled  the  pulpit  for  three  years.  On  the 
31st  of  January,  1828,  the  old  bell  of  the  Church  being 


The  following  is  an  extract  from  an  old  pamphlet  which  was 
handed  to  the  compiler  of  this  history,  in  December,  1887,  it  having 
been  preserved  in  the  family  of  the  present  owner  from  the  time  of 
its  publication  in  1827,  until  now.  As  it  was  published  officially  by 
the  officers  of  the  "First  Presbyterian  Church,"  and  contains  the 
rules,  etc.,  for  the  government  of  that  church,  it  effectually  establishes 
the  origin  of  that  church. 

"  Rules  and  confession  ol  faith  ofthe  First  Presbyterian  Church  constituted  in 
Savannah,  June  6, 1827. 

Early  in  the  month  of  May  of  this  year,  a  few  Christian  brethren,  then  mem- 
bers ofthe  Independent  Presbyterian  Church  *  *  *  presented 
the  following  application  to  the  church,  of  which  they  were  then  members. 
To  the  Kev.  S.  B.  How,  pastor,  and  the  session  of  the  Independent  Church  in 
Havaunah : 

Brethren— The  undersigned  members  ofthe  church  over  which  you  pre- 
side, believing  that  the  interests  of  the  Redeemer's  kingdom  would  be  pro- 
moted by  the  establishment  of  a  Presbyterian  Church  in  this  city,  respectfully 
and  atfectionately  request,  for  the  purpose  of  forming  such  a  church,  a  dis- 
mission from  your  body.  *  *  *  ^^Q  are  brethren  yours,  etc., 

George  G.  Faries, 
Lowell.  Mason, 
Edw^ard  Coppee, 
Joseph  Cu^oiing. 

In  reply  to  which  they  received  the  following  regular  dismission  from  that 
church : 

Extracts  from  the  minutes  of  session  of  the  Independent  Presbyterian  con- 
gregation of  Savannah,  at  their  meeting.  May  18, 1827. 

"A  communication  having  been  received  from  Messrs.  George  G.  Faries, 
Lowell  Mason,  Edward  Coppee  and  Joseph  Cumming,  requesting  to  be  dis- 
missed from  this  church,  it  is  unanimously  resolved  by  session  to  grant  their 
request ;  that  they  be  and  are  hereby  dismissed  from  this  church  as  commun- 
icants in  good  and  regular  standing.  S.  B.  How, 

"Moderator  ofthe  Session." 

Having  obtained  this  dismission,  these  brethren  made  an  application  to  the 
Moderator  of  the  Presbytery  of  Georgia,  who  visited  Savannah  in  person,  and 
after  examining  into  the  circumstances  of  the  case,  appointing  a  meeting  of 
the  Presbytery  to  be  held  on  Wednesday,  June  «.  At  this  meeting  a  formal 
application  was  made  and  supported  by  these  persons,  together  with  others 
connected  with  them  in  their  religious  views,  to  be  constituted  a  church  in 
connection  with  the  Pi-esbyterian  church  of  the  United  States.  *  *  * 
The  Presbytery  unanimously  resolved  to  grant  their  request,  and  accordingly, 
in  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day,  twelve  persons  were  solemnly  constituted 
into  a  church  of  Christ,  and  ruling  elders  ordained  for  the  same. 

The  following  is  the  form  of  admission,  etc.,  etc.  *  *  * 

Pi'ofession  of  faith.  *  *  *  Rules  for  the  government  of  the  First 
I'resbyterian  church  in  Savannah.  Article  1.  This  church  shall  be  known  by 
the  name  ofthe  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Savannah.  It  shall  be  regularly 
connected  with  the  Presbyterian  church  in  the  United  States  and  subject  to 
its  government  and  discipline.  Its  pastor  shall  be  a  member  of  the  Presby- 
tery." *  *  *  7th.  A  Sabbath  school  or  schools,  for  religious  instruc- 
tion of  children,  shall  be  established  in  connection  with  this  church,  under 
the  direction  of  the  session,  etc.,  etc.       *       *       *" 

JOHN  I.  STODDARD. 


INDEPENDENT  PRESB  YTERIAN  CHURCH.        35 

cracked,  it  was  decided  to  recast  it,  and  for  the  purpose 
of  defraying  the  expense,  as  well  as  to  increase  its  size, 
Benjamin  Burroughs,  William  Gaston  and  Norman 
Wallace  contributed  1200  each,  provided  that  "  the  same 
is  conveyed  in  trust  for  the  congregation  and  never  be 
subject  to  the  debts  of  the  Church."  This  is  the  bell 
now  in  use. 

Miss  Lucy  SheUman  was  engaged  as  organist  in  1827, 
(when  Lowell  Mason  left),  with  a  salary  of  $100,  after- 
wards raised  to  $200.  She  remained  as  organist  until 
May,  1848,  when  she  resigned. 

The  records  of  1829  show  that  there  were  Deacons 
in  the  Church  at  that  time,  who  had  charge  of  the 
money  for  the  poor  and  rendered  accounts  of  the  dis- 
pensation of  the  same  to  the  Session. 

Rev.  Dr.  Baker  was  authorized  on  the  29th  of  Novem- 
ber, 1829,  by  the  Trustees,  to  "grant  the  use  of  the 
Church  when  not  in  use  by  the  congregation  to  the 
Synod  of  South  Carolina  for  purposes  of  worship." 

In  November,  1830,  Mr.  Baker  made  known  his  de- 
sire to  unite  himself  with  the  Presbytery  of  this  State. 
"  This  proposed  step  occasioned  much  regret  on  the 
part  of  the  Elders,  recollecting,  as  they  did,  the  diffi- 
culties that  had  arisen  under  Dr.  Kollock  from  a  similar 
step  taken  by  him.  They  would  have  preferred  to  have 
had  him  remain  a  member  of  a  Presbytery  of  a  distant 
State  rather  than  unite  himself  to  one  in  our  vicinity, 
but  since  he  had  obtained  his  dimission,  though  they 
could  not  approve,  they  did  not  oppose  the  contem- 
plated union  ;  at  the  same  time,  in  order  that  the  Church 
should  not  be  committed  by  this  act  of  the  Pastor,  under 
any  possible  circumstances,  it  was  resolved  that  a  state- 
ment to  that  effect  be  inserted  on  the  minutes." 


36  HISTORY  OF  THE 


During  the  year  1831,  ninety-eight  persons  were  added 
to  the  Church,  but  lor  reasons  not  stated,  Dr.  Baker  left 
the  Church  before  the  expiration  of  the  year,  and  Dr. 
Willard  Preston  was  called  from  Madison,  Ga.,  a  Con- 
gregational minister  who  never  had  any  connection  with 
Presbytery.  Dr.  Preston  preached  his  first  sermon  on 
the  25th  of  December,  1831,  and  received  his  call  at  a 
salary  of  $2,500  on  the  14th  of  the  January  following. 
He  found  two  hundred  and  sixty-eight  communicants 
when  he  took  charge. 

In  June,  1838,  Dr.  John  Cumming,  with  his  wife,  to- 
gether with  fourteen  other  members  of  the  congrega- 
tion, were  lost  in  the  steamer  Pulaski  between  Savannah 
and  Baltimore.  Among  the  lost  were  the  wife  and 
children  of  Robert  Hutchinson,  who,  by  permission  of 
the  Trustees  granted  that  same  year,  placed  a  marble 
tablet  in  the  Church  to  their  memory. 

The  iron  railing  around  the  Church  was  not  put  up 
until  1841,  at  a  cost  of  $4,227,  12,000  of  which  had 
been  left  the  Church  by  the  will  of  James  Wallace  for 
that  purpose. 

In  the  year  1846  the  ladies  of  the  congregation  raised 
$7,630  by  subscription  for  the  repairs  of  the  Church. 
Among  other  repairs  and  changes  made  at  that  time 
was  the  relaying  of  the  flag-stones  of  the  porch  and 
the  removal  of  the  wooden  balustrade,  which  ran  around 
the  roof  near  the  eaves.  The  flag-stone  sidewalk  around 
the  Church  lot  was  not  laid  until  1846,  and  it  was  1850 
before  it  was  entirely  finished  around  Church  and  Sun- 
day School. 

In  1851  permission  was  granted  by  the  Trustees  for 
the  City  to  place  a  clock  in  the  steeple,  same  to  remain 
the  property  of  the  City. 


INDEPENDENT  PRESB  YTERIAN  CHURCH.       37 


The  iron  railing  was  placed  around  the  Sunday  School 
building  in  1852  at  a  cost  of  $578.U,  and  gas  was  in- 
troduced into  the  Church  the  same  year  at  a  cost  of 
11,150.85.  It  had  been  introduced  into  the  Sunday 
School  several  years  before,  and  would  probably  have 
been  placed  in  the  Churcli  at  the  same  time  but  the 
second  service  Avas  held  in  the  afternoon.  Previously 
the  Church  had  been  lighted  with  oil  and  the  old 
Church  with  candles.  In  November,  of  this  year,  the 
Trustees  offered  the  Lecture  Room  to  the  Synod  of 
Georgia  for  the  purpose  of  holding  their  meeting  and  it 
was  accepted. 

In  1853  the  old  square  pews  on  the  side  aisles,  next 
the  wall,  were  divided  into  two  each,  at  a  cost  of  1450, 
and  their  backs  were  made  sloping.  They  are  the  only 
pews  down  stairs  that  uoav  have  sloping  backs. 

During  this  year  (1853)  eight  ladies  of  the  congrega- 
tion applied  to  the  Trustees  for  a  portion  of  the  vacant 
lot  in  rear  of  the  Church  upon  which  to  build  a  par- 
sonage, and  the  Trustees  granted  them  a  space  on  the 
corner  of  Whitaker  and  South  Broad  Streets,  sixty  by 
ninety  feet,  for  the  use  of  satd  building.  When  the 
building  was  partially  finished,  the  ladies  discovered 
that  the  work  was  being  improperly  performed,  and  in 
1854  requested  the  Trustees  to  assume  control  and 
finish  it,  Avhich  they  did.  The  former  contract  was  an- 
nulled, and  the  contractor  ordered  to  remove  the  un- 
finished work.  For  this  he  sued  the  ladies  and  obtained 
judgment  against  them  for  $2,347.19.  The  building 
was  finished  in  1857  and  occupied  by  Dr.  Axson  that 
Fall.  The  total  cost  of  the  building,  including  the 
judgment  against  the  ladies,  was  117,515.09,  of  which 
the  ladies  raised  $6,484.28. 


38  HISTOR  y  OF  THE 

The  old  organ,  upon  which  large  sums  of  money  had 
been  expended,  viz.:  $600  at  one  time,  was  finally  ruined 
by  the  great  storm  of  September  8th,  1854,  and  it  was 
proposed  to  procure  a  new  one  by  subscription,  which 
was  done,  and  the  new  one  finished  in  1856  at  a  cost  of 
$6,000,  less  $1,000  allowed  by  the  builder  for  the  old 
one  which  he  took  in  part  payment.  Repairing  the 
same  he  sold  it  to  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  of  this 
city,  and  it  is  now  in  use  (188;^)  in  the  Cathedral.  The 
cost  of  repairing  the  damage  done  the  Church  by  this 
storm  was  $746.56.  The  furnace  was  placed  in  the 
Church  in  1854  at  a  cost  of  $527.57.  Previously  the 
Church  had  never  been  heated. 

Dr.  Preston's  health  being  feeble,  on  the  2d  day  of 
May,  1855,  he  applied  for  leave  of  absence,  stating  in 
his  application  that  he  had  served  the  Church  for 
twenty-four  years,  and  had  only  been  absent  four  times. 
The  leave  was  granted,  and  $650  raised  by  the  congrega- 
tion to  defray  his  expenses.  His  health  continued  to 
decline  and  on  the  26th  of  April,  1856,  he  died,  at  the 
age  of  seventy-two,  having  been  Pastor  for  over  twenty- 
five  years.  A  tablet  was  erected  to  his  memory  in  the 
Church,  at  a  cost  of  $350,  in  1858,  and  a  monument  in 
Laurel  Grove  Cemetery,  at  a  cost  of  $600,  by  contribu- 
tions from  the  congregation. 

A  lot  was  purchased  in  Laurel  Grove  Cemetery  in 
1857  to  be  kept  as  a  burial  spot  for  the  Pastors  of  the 
Church  as  shall  die  in  its  service.  It  was  proposed  to 
move  Dr.  Preston's  remains  to  it,  but  as  the  family  re- 
fused to  have  them  moved,  the  monument  was  erected 
in  the  Preston  family  lot,  and  a  railing  placed  around 
that  lot  at  a  cost  of  $160.  This  Church  lot  in  Laurel 
Grove  Cemetery  was  next  to  the  Preston  lot,  but  it  w^as 
afterwards  exchanged  for  Dr.  Axson's  lot,  at  his  request. 


INDEPENDENT  PRESS  YTERIAN  CHURCH.        39 

Dr.  Preston's  sermons  were  published  for  the  benefit 
of  his  family,  and  a  list  of  subscribers  was  made  up 
who  agreed  to  pay  each  year  the  sums  opposite  their 
names  for  the  support  of  his  widow.  The  total  amount 
to  be  collected  annually  was  over  $800.  $600  a  year 
was  paid  his  widow,  by  the  Trustees,  out  of  this  fund, 
until  her  death  in  1868,  the  balance  being  carried  to  an 
annuity  fund,  to  be  used  in  replacing  the  amounts  with- 
drawn from  the  original  list,  as  the  years  rolled  on. 

After  the  death  of  Dr.  Preston,  several  ministers 
preached  at  different  times.  Those  who  remained  the 
longest  were  Rev.  W.  M.  Baker,  from  August  3,  1856? 
for  six  weeks.  Rev.  D.  H.  Porter,  Pastor  of  the  First 
Church,  tor  three  months,  that  Church  being  unfin- 
ished. Dr.  Hardenberg,  of  New  York,  from  Novem- 
ber, 1856,  until  June,  1857,  and  Rev.  C.  W.  Rogers  from 
June,  1857,  to  November,  1857,  at  which  time  Rev.  I. 
S.  K.  Axson,  D.  D.,  was  called  from  Greensboro,  Ga.,  at 
a  salary  of  $3,000.  He  accepted  the  call  in  November, 
which  had  been  made  in  April  of  that  year. 

In  1859  the  second  service  was  changed  from  after- 
noon to  evening.  In  the  year  1830  the  afternoon  ser- 
vice was  held  at  a  quarter  past  three  in  the  afternoon. 

The  gallery  pews  were  altered  in  1860,  at  a  cost  of 
$322.39,  and  during  the  alteration  the  backs  were  made 
sloping. 

In  1863,  prices  for  everything  being  fabulously  high 
on  account  of  the  war,  the  congregation  presented  Dr. 
Axson  with  $1,000,  and  in  1864  with  $3,500  more,  all 
raised  by  contributions.  In  the  latter  year  the  Trustees 
added  $1,500  to  this  amount  in  addition  to  his  regular 
salary. 


40  HISTORY  OF  THE 

After  the  fall  of  the  city  in  1865,  it  was  determined 
to  take  np  a  collection  every  Sunday  morning  for  cur- 
rent expenses,  as  the  funds  in  the  hands  of  the  Trustees 
were  worthless. 

In  1866  Dr.  Axson's  life  was  insured  by  the  Trustees 
for  15,000  for  the  benefit  of  his  family. 

During  this  year  Mr.  Charles  Green  presented  the 
Church  with  eight  silver-plated  collection  plates,  brought 
from  England.  Previous  to  this,  with  the  exception  of 
the  offering  on  Communion  Sunday,  which  was  lelt, 
according  to  custom,  under  the  table-cloth  by  the  com- 
municants, all  collections  were  taken  up  by  the  Elders, 
who  stood  at  the  doors,  receiving  the  same  in  their  hats, 
as  the  congregation  passed  out. 

In  1868,  $1,5.80  were  raised  by  contributions,  and 
spent  in  repairing  the  Church,  painting  steeple,  etc., 
and  it  was  during  these  repairs,  in  the  Fall  of  that 
year,  that  a  painter  fell  from  a  point  just  below  the 
basket  to  the  roof  and  thence  to  the  ground,  causing 
instant  death. 

During  this  year,  Mrs.  Mary  Frew  presented  the 
Church  with  a  lot  on  Anderson  Street  on  which  to  erect 
a  Chapel,  to  be  used  perpetually  as  a  place  for  worship. 
The  Chapel  was  completed  the  following  year. 

Before  the  close  of  1868  Mr.  Francis  Sorrel  resigned 
from  the  Board  of  Trustees  on  account  of  failing  health, 
he  having  been  Chairman  of  the  Board  for  thirty-four 
years. 

Eev.  N.  P.  Quarterman  was  called  as  Assistant  Pastor 
in  1869,  to  take  especial  charge  of  Anderson  Street 
Chapel,  and  entered  upon  his  duties  the  following  year, 
with  a  salary  of  $2,000,  remaining  until  called  to  Thom- 
asville  in  1873.     The  vacancy  thus  created  was  not  filled 


INDEPENDENT  PRESB  YTERIAN  CHURCH.       41 


until  the  Spring  of  1874,  when  Rev.  E.  C.  Gordon  was 
called  as  Junior  Pastor,  at  a  salary  of  12,500.  He  re- 
mained until  the  Fall  of  1880,  when  he  was  called  to 
Salem,  Va.,  and  his  place  was  filled  by  Rev.  Robert  P. 
Kerr,  who  was  called  from  Columbus,  Ga.,  at  a  salary  of 
$2,000,  and  assumed  his  duties  in  January,  1881. 

On  Saturday  evening,  January  15,  18TG,  a  fire  occurred 
in  the  Church  basement,  caused  by  the  furnace.  The 
fire  engines  were  promptly  on  the  spot  and  prevented 
serious  damage,  but  as  the  flames  had  succeeded  in 
reaching  the  loft  by  means  of  the  interior  of  one  of 
the  large  columns,  they  would  soon  have  been  beyond 
control.  The  floor,  which  had  been  somewhat  weak- 
ened, was  shored  up,  and  service  held  as  usual  the  fol- 
lowing day;  and  to  prevent  a  recurrence  of  the  accident 
the  furnace  was  subsequently  sunk  into  the  ground. 

During  the  Spring  of  1880,  having  received  permis- 
sion from  the  Trustees,  the  family  of  John  Stoddard 
(who  had  served  the  Church  for  thirty-five  years  as 
Elder,  and  w^ho  died  in  1879),  placed  a  memorial  tablet 
in  the  Church  to  his  memory. 

In  the  following  Spring  the  family  of  G.  B.  Gumming 
presented  the  Church  with  a  handsome  Baptismal  Font, 
as  a  memorial  of  Mr  Gumming  (who  had  served  as 
Elder  for  thirty-four  years,  and  who  died  in  1878),  and 
his  wife  Catherine. 

The  cost  of  repairing  the  damage  done  by  the  great 
storm  of  August  27th,  1881,  was  8500.  While  repairing 
the  same,  the  Trustees  discovered  that  the  body  of  the 
Church  had  at  some  previous  time  been  struck  by  light- 
ning, which  had  apparently  entered  the  roof  at  the  rear 
end  of  the  Church,  and  after  splitting  three  of  the  king 
posts  which   supported  the  roof,  had  passed  ofl"  on  the 


42  mSTOR  V  OF  THE 

gas  pipes.  It  was,  therefore,  determined  to  place  a  new 
rod  on  both  Church  and  spire,  which  was  done  in 
February  at  a  cost  of  8178.92,  a  guarantee  being  re- 
ceived from  the  company  doing  the  work,  to  be  responsi- 
ble for  any  future  damage  caused  by  lightning. 
The  following  are  the  officers  of  the  Church  : 

Rev.  I.  S.  K.  AxsoN",  D.  D.,  Pastor, called  in  1857 

Rev.  Robert  P.  Kerr,  junior  Pastor, "      "    1881 

ELDERS. 

W.  H.  Baker, elected  in  1859 

C.  H.  Olmstead, "  "  1867 

T.  H.  Hardej^-, "  "  1874 

Randolph  Axso:n-, "  "  1874 

Joseph  Clay,  "  "  1877 

W.  L.  Wakelee, "  *'  1882 

TRUSTEES. 

George  C.  Freeman,  Chairman, elected  in  1878 

John  I.  Stoddard, «        "1878 

Geo.  J.  Mills, "        "  1881 

H.  F.  Grant, "        «  1882 

E.  M.  Green "        "  1882 

Number  of  Communicants  on  the  Church  roll  in 

December,  1881 373 

Number  on  the  roll  of  Anderson  Street  Church 56 

Number  on   the  roll   of    Anderson   Street   Sunday 

School,  (J.  R.  West  being  Superintendent) — 

Scholars 100 

Teachers 18 

LEGACIES. 

As  far  as  can  be  ascertained  from  the  books,  the 
following  are  all  the  legacies  which  have  been  left  the 
Church,  viz.: 


INDEPENDENT  PRESB  YTERIAN  CHURCH.        43 

III  1841  Mr.  James  Wallace  left  the  Church  $2,000 
for  the  purpose  of  erecting  an  iron  railing  around  the  lot. 

In  1855  the  Church  became  residuary  legatee  under 
the  will  of  Mrs.  Martha  Williams,  and,  though  not  yet 
in  full  possession  of  the  property,  receives  therefrom 
about  $325  a  year. 

In  1860  Mrs.  Susan  Courterleft  half  of  her  property 
to  the  Church  and  half  to  her  Son,  but  the  Trustees  de- 
clined to  receive  it,  relinquishing  all  claim  in  favor  of 
the  son. 

In  1861  Mr.  Hutchinson  left  $1,000  to  the  Church. 

Miss  Mary  Telfair,  who  died  in  1875,  left  the  Church 
the  building  on  the  southwest  corner  of  Bull  and 
Broughton  Streets,  with  thestipulation  that  the  Church 
should  care  for  her  lot  in  the  Cemetery ;  should  give 
$1,000  every  year  towards  the  support  of  feeble  Presby- 
terian Churches  in  Georgia;  that  the  lot  where  the 
present  Sunday  School  now  stands  should  never  be  sold  ; 
and  that  neither  the  pulpit  or  galleries  in  the  Church 
should  ever  be  materially  altered.  Her  will  was  con- 
tested and  the  Church  has  never  received  the  property, 
the  case  being  still  in  the  courts. 


44  HISTOR  y  OF  THE 


:e3:  I  s  T  o  i^  -Y- 

—  OF  THE  — 

liEPEIDFi'I  PHESEIIEII SDNMI  SCHOOL 

FROM    1804   TO    1882. 


The  records  of  Session  having  been  destroyed  by  the 
great  fire  of  1820,  the  oldest  authentic  account  of  the 
Church  School  was  obtained  from  the  late  Mrs.  Isaac 
Cohen,  who  at  that  time  lived  near  where  the  Church 
then  stood.  She  stated  positively  that  there  was  a 
School  in  the  Independent  Presbyterian  Church  in  the 
year  1804,  that  met,  at  that  time,  every  Saturday  after- 
noon in  the  Church  building  for  the  catechetical  in- 
struction of  the  children  of  the  congregation.  She 
further  stated  that  while  she  lived  near  there  she  saw 
the  children  going  to  and  from  the  School  sessions  every 
Saturday. 

How  long  the  School  had  been  in  existence  at  that 
time  is  not  known,  but  it  certainly  was  organized  during 
the  life,  and  perhaps  through  the  influence  of  Robert 
Raikes,  the  originator  of  Sunday  Schools,  for  there  is 
now  in  possession  of  the  School  a  life  size  oil  painting 
of  that  gentleman.  He  died  in  1811,  having  founded 
his  first  Sunday  School  in  England  in  1781. 

Not  being  able,  however,  to  obtain  any  earlier  authen- 
tic account,  we  must  accept  the  year  1804-  as  the  date  of 


INDEPENDENT  PRESS  YTERIAN  CHURCH.        45 


the  organization  of  the  School.  Mrs.  Sarah  Sawyer 
frequently  stated  that  the  School  was  in  a  flourishing 
condition  in  1807,  the  year  she  arrived  in  Savannah, 
and  that  tlie  School  met  at  that  time  on  Sunday  morn- 
ings. Another — Mrs.  Harriett  M.  Green — said  that  she 
herself  was  a  member  of  the  School  in  1807.  The 
School  continued  to  assemble  on  Sunday  mornings  until 
the  year  1866,  since  wiiich  time  the  services  have  been 
held  in  the  afternoon. 

During  the  year  1815,  the  School  was  reorganized  by 
Lowell  Mason,  organist  of  the  Independent  Presbyterian 
Church,  who  was  then  Superintendent  of  the  School, 
and  the  sessions  were  held  on  Sunday  morning  in  the 
basement  of  the  Chatham  Academy.  Up  to  this  time 
there  were  no  other  Sunday  Schools  in  Savannah,  the 
children  of  the  other  denominations  uniting  with  this 
while  Lowell  Mason  was  Superintendent. 

In  1827  Lowell  Mason  left  the  Church,  and  Geo.  W. 
Coe  was  elected  Superintendent,  and  served  until  his 
death  in  1832.  During  the  early  part  of  Mr.  Coe's  ad- 
ministration, most  of  the  other  denominations  established 
Sunday  Schools  of  their  own,  and  withdrew  their 
children  to  their  respective  churches. 

In  the  year  1833,  the  lot  on  the  northwest  corner  of 
Bull  and  Hull  Streets,  on  which  the  present  School 
building  stands,  was  bought,  and  the  present  structure 
erected  through  the  efforts  of  the  teachers  and  schol- 
ars, the  money  being  raised  by  fairs  and  contributions, 
and  on  the  29th  of  September,  1833,  the  services  were 
transferred  to  the  new  building,  which  was  dedicated 
on  that  day  by  Dr.  Preston,  from  whom  the  above  in- 
formation was  obtained. 


46  HIS  TOR  V  OF  THE 


Mr.  James  Smith  succeeded  Mr.  Coe  as  Superinten- 
dent in  1832,  who  in  turn  was  followed  by  Captain  Bee 
in  1835.  Captain  Bee  died  in  1844  and  Capt.  John  W. 
Anderson  served  as  Superintendent  until  his  death  in 
1866.  John  D.  Hopkins  served  from  1867  until  1874, 
during  which  year  Wm.  H.  Baker,  the  present  Superin- 
tendent, was  chosen  ;  Mrs.  M.  E.  Wilbur  being  the 
Superintendent  of  the  infant  department.  In  former 
years  all  the  Sunday  Schools  of  the  city  united  in  cele- 
brating what  was  then  called  "  Children's  Day,"  march- 
ing in  procession  through  the  streets  with  their  banners 
waving,  to  assemble  in  some  convenient  place  for  ad- 
dresses, etc. 

When  the  new  Sunday  School  was  built,  Captain  Bee 
and  Captain  Anderson  were  appointed  Trustees  to  take 
charge  of  it  for  the  School,  but  in  the  year  1841  Captain 
Anderson,  surviving  Trustee  (as  the  records  of  the 
Church  Trustees  show),  turned  the  building  over  to  the 
Church,  stating  at  that  time  how  and  by  whom  it  was 
built. 

Nunber  of  teachers  now  on  the  roll 30 

Scholars 200 

REGULAR  PASTORS  WHO  HAVE  SERVED  THE 
CHURCH. 

Rev.  John  Joachim  Zublv,  D.  D.,  called  in  1760,  left 
in  1778. 

Rev.  Mr.  McCall,  called  in  1794,  died  in  1796. 

Rev.  Robert  Smith,  called  in  1800,  died  at  the  North 
in  1803. 

Rev.  Henry  Kollock,  D.  D.,  called  in  1806,  died  in 
1819. 

Rev.  W.  D.  Snodgrass,  D.  D.,  called  in  1822,  resigned 
in  1823. 


INDEPENDENT  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH.        47 

Rev.  Samuel  B.  Howe,  D.  D.,  called  in  1823,  left  in 
1827. 

Kev.  Willard  Preston,  D.  D.,  called  in  1831,  died  in 
1856. 

Rev.  I.  S.  K.  Axson,  D.  D.,  called  in  1857. 

ASSISTA^^T  AND  JUNIOR  PASTORS. 

Rev.  N.  P.  Quarterman,  assistant  Pastor,  called  in 
1869,  resigned  in  1873. 

Rev.  E.  0.  Gordon,  junior  Pastor,  called  in  1874,  re- 
signed in  1880. 

Rev.  Robt.  P.  Kerr,  junior  Pastor,  called  in  1881. 

ELDERS  WHO  HAVE  SERVED  THE  CHURCH. 

The  early  records  of  Session  having  been  lost,  all 
the  Elders  who  served  from  the  organization  of  the 
Church  are  not  known. 

Thomas  Young  was  an  Elder  during  the  year  1800, 
and  subsequently  John  Gibbons,  John  Bolton,  John 
Hunter,  Edward  Stebbins  and  George  Hanall  were 
elected.  In  Dr.  Kollock's  time  John  Millen,  Dr.  John 
Gumming,  Benjamin  Burroughs  and  Moses  Cleland 
served  the  Church  ;  afterwards  and  prior  to  1829  Geo. 
W.  Coe,  John  Lewis  and  Geo.  W.  Anderson  were 
elected,  since  then  Judge  Law,  James  Smith,  Capt.  Bee, 
G.  B.  Lamar,  John  Stoddard,  G.  B.  Gumming,  Z6\^x^.^,  /incmA<^ 
^oUm.  Hopkins,  Charles  Green,  Wm.  H.  Baker,  C.  H.  01m- 
stead,  T.  H.  Harden,  Randolph  Axson,  Joseph  Clay, 
W.  L.  Wakelee. 


48 


HISTOR  V  OF  THE 


TRUSTEES  WHO  HAVE  SERVED  SINCE  1755 
LIST  BEING  COMPLETE. 

From  1755— 


James  Powell, 
James  Miller, 
Wm.  Gibbons, 
Wm.  Wright, 
John  Fox, 
Thomas  Newell, 
Francis  Coarvoisie, 
John  Screven, 
F.  F.  Flyming, 

From  January,  1808 — 

Edward  Stebbins, 
Ebenezer  Stark, 
Oliver  Sturges, 
John  Bolton, 

From  January,  1823 — 
William  Taylor, 
Joseph  Camming, 
Dr.  John  Camming, 
Moses  Cleland, 
F.  Sorrel, 
N.  T.  Bayard, 
Ralph  King, 
John  W.  Anderson, 
Charles  Green, 
W.  B.  Hodgson, 


Robert  Bolton, 
Joseph  Gibbons, 
Benjamin  Farley, 
David  Fox, 
Barrach  Gibbons, 
Charles  Harris, 
John  G.  Williamson, 
Thos.  F.  Williams, 
Benjamin  Maurice. 

Thomas  Young, 
John  P.  Williamson, 
William  Davis, 
John  Hunter. 

Benjamin  Burroughs, 
Alexander  Telfair, 
C.  W.  Rockwell, 
A.  Porter, 
F.  Densler, 
W.  W.  Gordon, 
Robert  Hutchinson, 
(i.  B.  Lamar, 
Wm.  Duncan, 
C.  F.  Mills, 


INDEPENDENT  PRESB  YTERIAN  CHURCH. 


49 


J.  W.  Latlirop, 
J.  L.  Hardee, 
E.  C.  Anderson,  Sr., 
John  N.  Lewis, 
Wm.  H.  Barroughs, 
E.  C.  Anderson,  Jr., 
D.  R.  Thomas 
0.  W.  Anderson, 
John  I.  Stoddard, 
Geo.  J.  Mills, 


E. 


Thos.  H.  Harden, 
J.  G.  Mills, 
N.  B.  Knapp, 
John  Cunningham, 
J.  F.  Gilmer, 
Henry  Lathrop, 

F.  Muir, 

G.  C.  Freeman, 

J.  P.  S.  Houston n, 
H.  F.  Grant, 
M.  Green. 


TTtstorv  m?  tttt;^.  Prf.rrvtf.rv  of  New  ■RRTmswTqK       1 25 


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